Doctor Who and the Tardis

Some creatures here to destroy the earth
Call the Doctor for all its worth
The blue Tardis landing with all whirs
Here to destroy the earth, some creatures

Bigger inside than the Tardis actually is
The Doctor saving the princess
From the Daleks on his own stride
The Tardis actually is, bigger inside

The Master is the Doctor’s Moriarty
The Cybermen coming from the sea
Other Time Lords and Davros in anger
The Doctor’s Moriarty is the Master

The eccentric Doctor Who and his Tardis
Coming to help the earth with his whisk
One phone call and earth is safe as we knew
His Tardis and the eccentric Doctor Who*

(c) ladyleemanila 2017

* The Swap Quatrain was created by Lorraine M. Kanter.

Within the Swap Quatrain each stanza in the poem must be a quatrain (four lines) where the first line is reversed in the fourth line. In addition, line 2 must rhyme with line 1, and line 3 must rhyme with line 4 and so on, BUT not repeat the same rhyming pattern on subsequent stanzas.

Rhyming pattern: AABB, CCDD, and so on.

For: Sunday Photo Fiction – August 13th 2017

Morning on the street where sidewalk is closed

© J Hardy Carroll

THIS WEEK’S WORDS come from “Even Though” by Esther Cohen: rejection, different, thought, letters, have, would, harder, envelope, despite, going, pass, satisfying

Morning on the street where sidewalk is closed
Despite different cars passing through today
I thought those old buildings have been bulldozed

Satisfying for me what I composed
Would have been harder had you seen my way
Morning on the street where sidewalk is closed

All emotion in the letter enclosed
My heart bleeding on this morning so grey
I thought those old buildings have been bulldozed

In the envelope rejection disclosed
Hard to walk as I pass by the bikeway
Morning on the street where sidewalk is closed

Have to go through this however I posed
Come hell or high waters or come what may
I thought those old buildings have been bulldozed

With the fire we had, they were quick to hosed
No one was injured, we thanked as we pray
Morning on the street where sidewalk is closed
I thought those old buildings have been bulldozed*

(c) ladyleemanila 2017

* A Villanelle is a nineteen-line poem consisting of a very specific rhyming scheme: aba aba aba aba aba abaa.

The first and the third lines in the first stanza are repeated in alternating order throughout the poem, and appear together in the last couplet (last two lines).

One of the most famous Villanelle is “Do not go Gentle into that Good Night” by Dylan Thomas.

For: Sunday Photo Fiction – August 6th 2017, Whirligig 123

An old house – Sunday Photo Fiction – July 16th 2017

© Mike Vore

The house is in need of repair
As you can see, it’s old and damp
With storm coming it needs revamp
Like skin, it needs cream and care

I don’t wish to be the object of scorn
But when one digs deeply
A mask covering the face
A poet and his paper
A house is the setting
Of a beautiful tale

So we started going to camp
And we saw this big bear
We’re so scared we swear
Ran away and started to decamp

Back to the old house
Got some paints and ladder
He started at the bottom
I painted the top floor
We sang as we worked
Glad the day was sunny

Bahay kubo kahit munti
Ang halaman doon, sari-sari*

(c) ladyleemanila 2017

* The La’libertas, a 22-line (4/6/4/6/2) poetic form created by Laura Lamarca. The stanza rules are as follows:

Stanza 1 – rhyme scheme ABBA, 8 syllables per line.
Stanza 2 – Free verse, 6 lines ONLY
Stanza 3 – Rhyme scheme BAAB, 8 syllables per line.
Stanza 4 – Free verse, 6 lines ONLY
Couplet – Italian (Any language acceptable except)

How the La’libertas for got its name is from the word “libertas” which is Latin for “liberty” and “La” is Laura Lamarca’s signature.

* last two lines (Tagalog) nipa hut, although small, the plants there, all different

For: Sunday Photo Fiction – July 16th 2017, Wordle 308 Jul 15 by brenda warren

If only you were here before

morguefile_May_2017 94c6030c4dbe18cd06a2778a635e1a9a

THIS WEEK’S WORDS come from “Are Poets the Same as Everyone Else?” by Esther Cohen: festival, together, wore, only, poems, fruit, walked, favourite, wine, listened, before, shades

If only you were here before
We’d walked along the villages
Listened to our favourite song

I’d write some poems short and long
Under the shades we’d kissed for ages
We’d go to festival, I swore

I still remember what you wore
When you left and the house changes
Overgrown plants which was all wrong

Together we used to belong
I’ve regretted all the chances
Come back to always open door

If only we could bring back time
I’d write poems with all the rhyme*

(c)ladyleemanila 2017

* Trilonnet, created by Shelley A. Cephas, is a 14-line poem made up of four three-line verses of 8 syllables (iambic tetrameter) and one rhyming couplet or four three-lined verses of 10 syllables (iambic pentameter) and one rhyming couplet.

Each 3 line verse is an unrhymed triplet. Each triplet has a rhyme scheme of abc. It is related to a sonnet in that it made up of 14 lines. There are 2 rhyme schemes for this form:

abc abc abc abc dd

or abc cba abc cba dd

This form is written in either iambic tetrameter or iambic pentameter.

© A Mixed Bag

For: FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2017: WEEK #27, Whirligig 119 , Sunday Photo Fiction – July 9th 2017

Our own lady and the dragon

© A Mixed Bag 2011

Our own lady and the dragon
They’re curved in stone in our village
Protecting our tribe from the quake
Keep us away from the edges

We expect the unexpected
Our own lady and the dragon
And sometimes I give them a wave
Unlike any other stranger

Digging and planting seeds in holes
Got our own traditions to share
Our own lady and the dragon
In our little village they stand

The swallows and martins flying
Dogs run and bark, cats whimpering
Children ride their bikes on their way
Our own lady and the dragon*

(c) ladyleemanila 2017

* A Quatern is a sixteen line French form composed of four quatrains. It is similar to the Kyrielle and the Retourne. It has a refrain that is in a different place in each quatrain. The first line of stanza one is the second line of stanza two, third line of stanza three, and fourth line of stanza four. A quatern has eight syllables per line. It does not have to be iambic or follow a set rhyme scheme.

line 1
line 2
line 3
line 4

line 5
line 6 (line 1)
line 7
line 8

line 9
line 10
line 11 (line 1)
line 12

line 13
line 14
line 15
line 16 (line 1)

For: Sunday Photo Fiction – July 2nd 2017, Wordle 306 Jul 1 by brenda warren

Lost in the middle of a forest – Sunday Photo Fiction

© Eric Wicklund

THIS WEEK’S WORDS come from “When a Friend Dies” by Esther Cohen: lost, middle, upset, nursery, stories, dance, wait, treatment, week, school, older, lunches

Lost in the middle of a forest
The stories of us at their fullest
From nursery and school, all these years
Eating lunches together, a must

Best mates as we got older it appears
Went to dance and we had all the cheers
Buried our memories in the woods
Then we separated for our careers

Couldn’t wait to leave our childhoods
Out of nowhere I saw your falsehoods
The treatment I got from you was unfair
You never deserve all these knighthoods

Out of sight and mind that I could bear
I have no regrets with our affair
That part of us was now elsewhere
In the forest as I sigh with a tear*

(c) ladyleemanila 2017

* A Quatrain is a poem consisting of four lines of verse with a specific rhyming scheme.

A few examples of a quatrain rhyming scheme are as follows:

#1) abab
#2) abba — envelope rhyme
#3) aabb
#4) aaba, bbcb, ccdc, dddd — chain rhyme

For: Sunday Photo Fiction – June 25th 2017, Whirligig 117

With you – Sunday Photo Fiction – June 4th 2017

© C E Ayr

Spare us your mercy, we are in love
Forget the cost of travelling, I’m here
With you, everything is worth it
Just to see your face and with you

The jar might be empty, but we’ll manage
Like flighty birds, we are free to groove
Tough life being separated
One day we will be together

The gift of love forever and ever
We are bound together, that is a sign
Sign that we have to be patient
Some sacrifices are needed

We will make the most of this day
With you the whole world is brilliant*

(c) ladyleemanila 2017

* The Lannet is a form of sonnet.

The Lannet consists of 14 lines – presentation of such piece is to the poet’s preference. There is a strict syllable count of 10 per line. The Lannet has NO END-LINE RHYMING SCHEME. Only internal rhyme is allowed. There is no stipulance of Iambic form, pentameter or tetrameter for a Lannet.

The Lannet form was created by Laura Lamarca.

For: Sunday Photo Fiction – June 4th 2017, Wordle 302 Jun 3 by brenda warren